Kevin Costner, Hollywood star and founding partner of Oil Therapy Solutions, has testified before Congress and urged policymakers to train a professional team of oil response workers.

Speaking to Agence France-Presse after his testimony, Mr Costner said that 32 of his company's centrifugal oil-water separating machines lay idle for days during the Deepwater Horizon spill as BP decided how to deploy them.

He insisted that the cleanup operation was hampered by an acute lack of oil spill training among the largely voluntary, non-professional response team.

"Our choices are clear. We can choose to enlist a fleet of 6,000 vessels that are hampered by their lack of training and preparedness, or we can create a dedicated fleet of 190 state-of-the-art vessels," he told lawmakers.

It is the second time Costner has appeared before Congress, having testified to the Senate Small Business Committee in June to call for a "multi-dimensional" response to the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development